Meet The New Boss

 

In a classic ‘won’t someone please think of the children’ gambit the Conservative party leader, David Cameron, yesterday leapt on to the ‘Let’s ban everything’ bandwagon – the strongest signal yet that, should he become Prime Minister after the forthcoming election, he will continue with the current Labour government’s attempts to be populist by announcing ‘bans’ on anything new, shiny and ‘outrageous’ that catches the tabloid media’s eye, no matter how fleetingly.

In calling for an end to the "inappropriate sexualisation" of children by companies out to make a fast buck from selling tawdry tat to those children, and the parents dumb enough to let their children have such crap, the iDave suggested – to show he was groovy and with it - that a website be set up, presumably in order for those that feel an overwhelming need to be outraged by such things to publicly demonstrate how much they ‘care about the kiddies’.

Eager to be seen also caring earnestly about ‘our children’, Ed ‘Total’ Balls, the Government’s Child Catche Children’s Secretary, was quick to clamber aboard the same bandwagon before the media found something more interesting to point its cameras at, claiming that the Labour government – as usual – already had plans to ban everything it could think of, including selling cheap tatty junk to kids.

One parent, though, completely dismissed the idea, saying:

Politicians are already creepy enough as it is. The thought of  weirdos like them discussing and deciding on the suitability of underwear for children just makes me feel ill.

However, as one critic pointed out:

It is not the ‘sexualisation of the children’ that is the problem here, but the way governments, including this one and the potential Conservative one, continue with the increasing infantalisation of adults. A process which seemingly means that the people must have someone ‘in authority’ manage what is ‘appropriate’ for them in all aspects of their lives.

People shouldn’t need anyone to tell them that cheap tawdry tat is not the right thing for their kids, no matter how bright and shiny the adverts are, or what some brain-dead celebrity tells them is essential for them to have to be fashionable. It shouldn’t need anyone from the government or one of its pet quangos to come along and tell people that this is unsuitable garbage that they are wasting their money on. It should be obvious.

Companies that produce this tat should go out of business because everybody sees it for what it is and simply doesn’t buy it, or buy into the fantasy it purports to bring along with it.

That is unless everyone in this country is a completely empty-headed gawp who will buy any old tat just because the advert is bright and shiny and has a nice tune, or because someone marginally famous tells them to, and… oh, hang on….